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UPSL Announces Santa Monica United FC as SoCal Expansion Team

January 15, 2019 – Los Angeles – The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is excited to announce Santa Monica United Football Club as a new member starting with the 2019 Spring Season.

Based in Santa Monica (Calif.), Santa Monica United FC will begin UPSL Championship play in the Western Conference SoCal Division.

United Premier Soccer League Commissioner Yan Skwara said, "Santa Monica United FC is a well-established club in the Westside community with a very strong player base that they can now feed up to its UPSL Pro Development squad. We are looking for a strong season from Santa Monica United as they enter the Spring season with winning expectations. We wish Santa Monica United the best of success both on and off the field."

Ben Nicholson, a Board Member at Santa Monica United FC stated, "We're excited to be able to offer an extra level of competition for the club. We want to give our players the most exposure possible and offer different pathways in their soccer career. We've been successful developing collegiate-level players in the past, placing 78 kids in colleges in the past 5 years, and see the UPSL as an opportunity to begin developing players to move into professional ranks as well. We're looking to build something special for the West L.A. soccer community."

Arron Craggs is Santa Monica United FC's Director of Coaching for Boys and will serve as the Pro-Development Team's Head Coach. Ben Nicholson will serve as Assistant Coach. The Pro-Development Team will play upcoming 2019 Spring Season home games in Santa Monica.

The team is hosting tryouts during training sessions in Santa Monica. Contact Ben Nicholson (bnicholson4728@gmail.com) for details. Teams wanting to scrimmage should also contact Ben Nicholson.

About Santa Monica United FC

Santa Monica United FC is an American Soccer club currently based in Santa Monica, Calif., and a new member of the United Premier Soccer League. Santa Monica United FC plays in the UPSL Championship. Santa Monica United FC dates back to 1975, currently has over 30 youth teams and features hundreds of youth players from the U8 to the U19 age groups.

Santa Monica United FC can participate in the qualifying rounds for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup through their affiliation and membership with the UPSL, the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA).

The UPSL was formed in 2011 and currently includes more than 300 teams in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. UPSL is the fastest growing Pro Development League in the USA, with 400-plus teams targeted for 2019 Fall Season. Each UPSL team is individually owned and operated, and is responsible for maintaining either UPSL Pro Premier Division or Championship Division minimum standards.

UPSL teams are all eligible to participate in the U.S. Open Cup Qualifying Rounds through the leagues affiliation with the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA).

More information about UPSL can be found at www.upslsoccer.com or by following the league on Facebook (www.facebook.com/upslsoccer) and Twitter (@upslsoccer).